APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - The Menasha police officer who was arrested on one count of stalking made his initial appearance in court on Friday.
Cristian Morales, 31, was arrested on Wednesday following an investigation by the Appleton Police Department. Morales is an officer with the Menasha Police Department, but lives in Appleton.
When Morales was arrested, one count of Stalking was referred by police. According to court records, he has been charged with one count of Misconduct/Office-Act/Excess Authority, a Class I Felony, which carries a 3.5-year maximum sentence and/or a $10,000 fine.
According to a criminal complaint filed Friday, the victim spoke to Appleton police in October about concerns that he was using the Flock camera system to track her car and see if it was where she had told him it was.
Investigators found that Morales had made seven searches on Flock between October 7th and October 14th, with five for the victim’s cars and two for his brother’s car.
The complaint says that Morales searched for the victim’s cars on October 9th between 9 and 10 a.m., with the reason in the system listed as “welfare”.
Appleton police spoke with Morales about his usage of Flock. He told them that he searched for the victim’s vehicles while not on-duty as a police officer and said that his decision to use the system was out of “desperation, and bad judgment, combined with a lack of sleep”. He also said he knew his decision to use it was wrong.
The Menasha Police Department says it placed Morales on administrative leave, which is standard department policy.
Menasha police say their own administrative investigation is ongoing.
No information about Morales’ next court appearance has been released at this time.
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